Istanbul – December 2025
As part of the IIFSO Arab Region Meeting, held in Istanbul from 15 to 17 December 2025, training workshops constituted a key practical component of the program. These sessions were designed to develop the capacities of student and youth leaders, while strengthening their organizational and leadership tools in response to the increasing complexity of contemporary challenges.
The workshops complemented the meeting’s intellectual discussions by shifting the focus toward applied skills essential for leaders of student organizations. They addressed practical dimensions of internal management, external engagement, and the ability to navigate disagreements and periods of transformation within organizational settings.
In this context, Dr. Mohammad Affan, Director of Al-Sharq Academia, delivered an interactive training session on dialogue and negotiation skills for leaders of student organizations. The session explored the foundations of effective dialogue and its necessary conditions, alongside leadership-focused negotiation skills as essential tools for managing interests and resolving internal disagreements. He also examined approaches to conflict management and consensus-building within organizational teams, emphasizing the transition from confrontational dynamics to solution-oriented thinking. The session was distinguished by its strong practical orientation, featuring applied examples that demonstrated how young leaders can translate dialogue and negotiation into tangible outcomes that advance student action.
For his part, Mr. Khalid Delil, a lecturer specializing in civil society organizations, addressed the theme of building internal and external relations with civil society actors through an institutional framework aimed at expanding the reach and influence of student organizations. The workshop highlighted the importance of effective internal communication as the foundation for building balanced and sustainable external partnerships. It also examined mechanisms for strengthening cooperation with civil society organizations, enabling the exchange of expertise, complementarity of roles, and broader societal engagement.
Meanwhile, Dr. Samer Mizher, a member of the IIFSO Shura Council, focused his training contribution on leadership strategies for managing resistance to change and addressing internal conflicts within institutions. He approached the concept of leadership from multiple perspectives, outlining various leadership styles and their impact on guiding organizational teams during periods of transition. He also discussed the key challenges associated with change processes within student frameworks, offering practical approaches to addressing them.
Taken together, these training workshops reflected a clear orientation within the IIFSO Arab Region Meeting 2025 toward investing in leadership development and strengthening the internal effectiveness of student action. They underscored the importance of linking theoretical awareness with practical skills, and of cultivating a new generation of youth leaders capable of acting with confidence, adaptability, and impact.
